Belgrade – Zoran Stankovic, President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, appeared as a guest in the "Sputnik Interview" program. Mr. Stankovic said that the security situation was stable and added that the three municipalities in South Serbia were once again in the public eye because someone was trying to present them as the municipalities where there was no rule of law, and in doing so failed to say what was being done outside the law, the Constitution and the Conventions on the rights of national minorities, to the detriment of Albanians, and what was it that needed to be improved.

When asked how the Coordination Body cooperated with the National Council of the Albanian National Minority, he explained that the Coordination Body coordinated the activities of the Government and other bodies of the Serbian state and the local self- governments, but that it also had daily activities and contacts with the leaderships of the local self-governments, as well as with the leadership of the Albanian National Council.

"Those who speak for the national council of any national minority need to know what the obligations, rights and scope of work of the council are, rather than try to draw them into solving political issues," Mr. Stankovic said.

"However, the major problem, as everywhere else, is employment, investing in the economy and providing conditions for a faster economic growth of these municipalities. However, there must be peace down there if someone is to invest some funds. The situation is calm there, there are no conflicts, while there is the heavy rhetoric of a small number of people, which does not correspond to the real situation, "Mr. Stankovic said.

He pointed out that Serbia strove for a balanced development of all parts of the Republic.

“Still waters run deep and a balanced rhetoric with a lot of tolerance contributes to the coexistence of Albanians, Serbs and others who live in the territory of the three municipalities, "said Zoran Stankovic, adding that that approach would enable the arrival of new investments in the three municipalities in southern Serbia.

The text of the entire interview is available on  

https://rs.sputniknews.com/intervju/201808031116771947-zoran-stankovic-intervju-/

Source: Sputnjik and Coordination Body